Sadhana Forest India

Global Ecovillage Network logo with a flower and leaf design in purple and blue.
  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • English
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2003

What we do

Our main project is the reforestation of 70 acres of severely eroded land. We are working to recreate the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest indigenous to our area. This forest type is found only in Southern India and Sri Lanka and provides a rare biological richness due to its very high species abundance (over 1000 species of trees, shrubbery and liana). The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest is now close to total extinction, with only 0.01% of the original forest surviving. We are working to keep this rich and beautiful forest on earth.
Reforestation and water conservation are two ways we practice our compassion to nature. In the past few years we have added new ways. The first, Children’s Land, opened in 2010. It is a space for local children from underprivileged backgrounds to come explore and use freely as their own. The second, the “Goshala” (Animal Sanctuary), opened in 2016, is a retirement center for injured and/or abandoned animals. Most recently, in February 2018, we opened the UniverCity of Compassion, a recurring residential program providing a free learning environment for discovering and nourishing ideas for compassionate action. It is open for people of all ages and walks of life.
We practice an eco-friendly way of life including veganism, alternative construction, solar energy, biodegradable toiletries, compost toilets and conscious consumption. All who stay here are expected to be mindful of their purchases and avoid generating waste if possible in order to fulfill our goal of being a zero waste community.
In Sadhana Forest we eat a pure vegan diet, which means no animal products from living or deceased animals. We eat fruits, vegetables, whole-grain brown and red rice, millets, herbs, spices, beans, and dal, and source as much as is possible from local and regional organic farms.
For more information about our work please visit www.sadhanaforest.org.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Languages
  • English
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Ecological Restoration
  • Permaculture

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2003
  • Started living together

Video

  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
20

How to join

Our dynamic community is composed of people of all ages and backgrounds, from all over India and from all over the world. We have found that living and sharing in a communal atmosphere brings us into harmony with nature and with ourselves; as one of our community members commented when she left, “May there be many forests to grow people.”
We welcome and accept everyone who wishes to get involved with us, any time of year, and we always have plenty of space available and plenty of work to do! You do not need to have a background in forestry or water conservation in order to enjoy and participate in our seva.
We engage in seva (selfless service) for about 25-35 hours a week. Our seva primarily consists of reforestation and water conservation, as well as general tasks that sustain the project as a whole. The reforestation work consists of preparing mounds for tree planting, planting trees, watering and mulching young trees, inspecting trees for fungal, bacterial, or other attacks, brewing home-made organic fertilizers and insect repellents, applying them, and caring for trees in our tree nursery. The water conservation work consists of building and repairing bunds, swales, trenches, and gabions. Our main goal is to use natural, low-tech landscaping methods to sequester water in the aquifer below, then to plant and care for young trees until they tap into the aquifer and begin to sustain themselves.
Sadhana Forest is managed by its Project Director who has been appointed by and reports to the Founder and International Director of Sadhana Forest. The Project Director decides on all matters of the project including health, safety and security.
All guests are asked not to smoke cigarettes (including both local “bidis” and electronic cigarettes), use drugs, or drink alcohol, inside or outside of Sadhana Forest, during their entire stay!

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Location

  • India

Promoted Needs and Offers

  • Events
10 years ago

Yo Mujer, Yo Ecologico, Yo Gaia

Taller Vivencial de Ecologia Profunda para Mujeres Un fin de semana para Reconectarnos con nuestro Poder, la Naturaleza y la Red de la Vida Vivimos en tiempos desafiantes, con crisis en nuestros ecosistemas, economias y sociedades que están afectando a toda la vida del planeta. Para muchas personas esto puede ser angustioso y abrumador; tal vez no sepan como reaccionar. En este taller vamos a explorar como son nuestras respuestas al estado actual en que se encuentra el mundo; de un modo que nos ayude a despertar y acceder a la motivación, creatividad, fuerza y solidaridad necesarias para la transición a una cultura humana sostenible. Juntas haremos un recorrido que nos llevará a espacios en los que podamos reconocer en que maneras, nosotras como mujeres, sentimos los peligros que hay en estas crisis, experimientando sus efectos y visualizando y co-creando nuestro futuro. El sonido nos acompañara en este viaje y jugaremos con nuestras voces y tambores, para expresar nuestros sentires, nuestros deseos y nuestras esperanzas. Estas prácticas pueden reconectarnos con nuestro poder, el poder CON la Tierra, en lugar de Sobre la Tierra, lo cual es algo que las mujeres desde la antigüedad han sabido y entendido. Vivir en plenitud es conectar con nosotras mismas como partes activas de la Red de la Vida. Las mujeres siempre han sido activas en los movimientos sociales y medioambientales: en la Guerra Civil española, las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo en Argentina, en el Reino Unido ha existido un campamento antinuclear con unicamente mujeres por 20 años. Y más recientemente oimos las voces emergentes del Sur como Vandana Shiva y Wangari Maathai en campañas por la soberania alimentaria y los derechos de acceso a los recursos locales para la población local. Estas prácticas que realizaremos, han sido desarrolladas y utilizadas desde hace más de 40 años y están basadas en el trabajo de Joanna Macy, ecofilósofa, activista, estudiosa y profesora de la teoria de sistem
  • Events
5 years ago

EDE France 2021 | Écovillage Sainte Camelle

We had to wait 2021, against all odds, to see the very first French EDE. How come it was only the 1st? Why never before? Well, we know why. FHF. This is why making an EDE in France was a tough challenge to take on. And yes, we did it! The group of participants we had for this EDE was so diverse that no clan emerged. It is quite usual that people gather by affinity in small groups but here, the entire group stuck together no matter what. The glue was really strong. Some personalities were more extraverted of course, but with a real care for other’s presence and voice. To the extent to become a real counter-power: if we made any facilitation mistake, if we failed to propose in the most careful way and if it felt like we were imposing anything, we would be immediately in trouble. We knew it came from a childhood school trauma for these people, who were very open about it. It was an amazing journey to navigate the facilitation process with such awareness. This context led to something incredible during week two: a very quiet voice, Pauline, protested against the fact that they had agreed to community agreements on the first day but now, she said, they had to review them by themselves and check if it reflects who they really are. We, as EDE crew members, opened a space in the program for them to take the time to do it. They used Sociometry, a tool taught to them before, to assess the agreements. They counted in percentage who agreed or not for each topic. They even discussed about the structure of the program and finally approved it. It was a very beautiful real-life example of self-empowerment. One of the most iconic moment of this EDE was the Derdian roleplay in which they completely immersed themselves for three hours. The participants playing the indigenous Derdians went in the forest and created another set of social rules to add to the existing 10 social rules, making it even harder for the engineers to understand them. Howeve
  • Events
11 years ago

Liderar la TransiciĂłn

Lo femenino del mundo, de las personas. De Mujeres y Hombres. La TransiciĂłn que nuestro mundo sueña, necesita de una reformulaciĂłn clara de los liderazgos. Reinventarse el liderazgo devolviĂ©ndolo a su lugar: ser una funciĂłn de la eficiencia de los procesos colectivos; y dejando de lado los liderazgos basados en la acumulaciĂłn de privilegios, en la desigualdad y en la dominaciĂłn. Cuando lo Femenino ocupa el espacio de lo publico, trae consigo la realidad no visible; coloca en lo social los interrogantes necesarios para que lo social deje de estar fraccionado entre Publico/Privado, y pueda ser acogido como el Todo que es. Lo femenino en su esencia, despojado de los condicionamientos impuestos, libre de ser y expresar su potencial en un mundo que busca caminos hacia la inclusiĂłn, la escucha, la equivalencia, el empoderamiento de los seres y colectividades que cuidan de la Vida. Traer al espacio de lo Publico , lo invisibilizado: las mujeres, los pueblos olvidados, la propia Tierra, la parte oprimida de la humanidad; es una forma de integrar las necesidades de las personas , del planeta, de la humanidad como identidad . Esta propuesta quiere ser un espacio para abrir las puertas e indagar juntas sobre el papel de estos liderazgos en los procesos de cambio. Como son esos nuevos liderazgos? Como es encarnar estas posiciones en colectividades y organizaciones? Como viven el proceso las mujeres que están desarrollando estos nuevos liderazgos? Y las que no. Como se sienten los hombres ante los liderazgos de las mujeres? Y los que encarnan estos nuevos modelos de liderazgo. Buscar respuestas….temporales tal vez. Ofrecernos espacios para el debate, la indagaciĂłn, profundizar, explorar. El Programa: (Provisional, sujeto a cambios) Viernes 9 por la tarde: Llegadas, instalarnos, visitar Arterra. 20.00: Cena y Presentaciones. 21.30: Cine y Debate. Sábado 10 : 9.00: Desayuno 10.00- 13.30 Taller: Liderazgo y Poder. 13.45:

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